Although Dodgers officials won’t finalize or announce pitching plans for the first- round playoff series until they absolutely have to, it is clear that Derek Lowe and Chad Billingsley will start Game 1 on Wednesday and Game 2 on Thursday, respectively.

After that, things get a bit fuzzy.

Hiroki Kuroda’s final regular-season start was switched from Saturday to Sunday after the Dodgers clinched the division title Thursday. That move appears to align Kuroda for a Game 3 start, on five days’ rest, which should be Oct. 4 at Dodger Stadium, but Dodgers manager Joe Torre wouldn’t confirm that.

Torre did say the fact there is a second off-day built into the Division Series – it will fall Oct. 6, between Games 4 and 5, if those games are necessary – might make him more inclined to go with a three- man rotation. But that still would mean bringing Lowe back on three days’ rest for a potential Game 4 on Oct. 5.

If Torre does go with a fourth starter, it probably would be Greg Maddux, who was immediately scratched from Thursday night’s game with San Diego after Arizona lost to St. Louis in the afternoon to officially make the Dodgers NL West champions.

Instead, lefty Eric Stults made a spot start against the Padres. Maddux was pushed to Saturday at San Francisco, where he figures to make an abbreviated start because Billingsley will be brought in for a few innings (on three days’ rest) behind Maddux.

However, Torre said he hadn’t ruled out using rookie left-hander Clayton Kershaw in his playoff rotation.

Club officials originally placed Kershaw, their top pitching prospect at the time, on a strict limit of 170 innings for the entire season, and he presently is at 168. But Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, pointing to the fact Kershaw pitched well in a crucial game Wednesday, said he is now comfortable lifting that limit.

Open auditions

With four meaningless games free to experiment, Torre got started Thursday by inserting shortstop Rafael Furcal and second baseman Jeff Kent into the starting lineup.

The test was to see how Furcal’s back and Kent’s left knee responded to playing a few innings in the field.

The answer presumably will go a long way toward determining whether there would be a place for either of them on the playoff roster, at least for the first round.

“I think we’ll have to see where we are with them,” Torre said. “Again, I envision Jeff coming off the bench and (pinch-hitting). We’ll have to see if we have enough flexibility in some other areas to allow us to keep someone who can only pinch hit.”

That probably means that if Kent is on the roster, Pablo Ozuna will have to be as well, because he would be the only backup to Blake DeWitt at second base.

For sale

Lowe said the fact he has put his 4,260-square-foot mansion in Manhattan Beach up for sale (it lists at $5.7 million) isn’t necessarily a signal that he doesn’t intend to re-sign with the Dodgers.

Lowe is a potential free agent and has been the Dodgers’ most reliable starter down the stretch.

Lowe, who makes his offseason home in Fort Myers, Fla., said he simply decided to get rid of the house because he doesn’t live in it full-time.

“I’m never buying a house (in the city I play in) ever again,” Lowe said. “Financially, it’s not worth it. You’re basically paying for something you’re only using for six months a year.”